Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced on Friday that one of its offices in the Orlu area of Imo State in the south-east of the country has come under attack again, adding that vandals partially burned the premises only three months before Nigeria’s Presidential Election in February 2023.
The INEC said the attack took place on Thursday, and that three construction workers were kidnapped at the election site but were later freed.
“The damage would have been more extensive but for the quick response of the Nigeria Police which sent its personnel to the site,” INEC spokesman Festus Okoye said in a statement.
Okoye pointed out that the INEC office in Orlu area was already undergoing repairs after an attack earlier and he said that INEC is worried about how often its offices are being attacked, particularly in the south-eastern part of the country, in the run-up to the country’s presidential, parliamentary and state elections in February 2023.
“This is one attack too many. The commission once again expresses its concern over the spate of attacks on its facilities and the negative consequences on our preparations for the 2023 general election.”
Before the most recent attack there was another attack on an INEC facility less than a week ago in Ebonyi State, also in the south-east of Nigeria, where separatist movements are on the rise seeking to restore the Republic of Biafra, which seceded from Nigeria before the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970) and later returned to Nigeria after the Nigerian Army's victory. The electoral body has reported at least 50 attacks on its sites over the past two months.